HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2000-09-27
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CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes
September 27, 2000
The Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) meeting of September 27, 2000 was
called to order by Chairperson Porter at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was held in City
Manager's Conference Room.
Pledge of Allegiance
II Roll Call
Present:
Absent:
Also
Present:
Chairperson Porter, Members Hurley, Jones, and Voce
Member McGuire
Department of Development Services
Mac Cummins, Assistant Planner
Mr. Cummins reported that Staff has not heard from Member McGuire since her last
contact approximately two months ago.
III Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve Agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
A YES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Jones, Porter, and Voce
None
McGuire
IV Oral Communications
None
V Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - Memorandum Re: Seal Beach Weapons Support
Facility - Installation Restoration Program - Status Report Re: RAB Project
Update. Memorandum dated September 12, 2000
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2000
2. RECEIVE AND FILE - Memorandum Re: Receipt of Orange County
Council of Governments "Regional Information Brief, Topic: Regional
Transportation Plan Update."
3. RECEIVE AND FILE - Staff Report to EQCB Re: "Draft Final Technical
Memorandum - Screening Aquatic Ecological Risk Assessment of the
Perimeter Pond adjacent to Site 7 station landfill Naval Weapons Station, Seal
Beach" and "Responses to Comments."
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
A YES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Jones, Porter, and Voce
None
McGuire
VI Scheduled Matters
4. CITY RESPONSE LETTER Re: "Draft Addendum Baseline Survey Work Plan,
Site 14, Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach."
Recommendation: Authorize Chairman to sign response letter with any
changes deemed appropriate by the board.
Mr. Cummins reported that the EQCB had previously reviewed this item and had
approved a letter in support of the proposed Baseline Survey Work Plan. He stated that
when the work on this project began the need for additional survey stations was
identified. He noted that the process to be used would be identical to the process
agreed upon as appropriate by the EQCB. Mr. Cummins referred to a correction to the
last sentence in the last paragraph of page 1 of the Staff Report, which should have
indicated that the contamination has created a 1 to 2 foot deep problem area at the
water plume level. He noted that the letter simply thanks the Department of the Navy
for allowing the City to comment on the proposed work plan and requests that the Naval
Weapons Station (NWS) keep the City apprised of progress on this project.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Porter to authorize the Chairperson to sign the
response letter with any board-approved changes.
MOTION CARRIED:
A YES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Jones, Porter, and Voce
None
McGuire
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2000
5. CITY RESPONSE LETTER Re:"Draft EIRlEIS for Bolsa Chica Lowlands
Restoration Project."
Recommendation: Authorize Chairman to sign response letter with any
changes deemed appropriate by the board.
Mr. Cummins explained that this was simply a restoration of the wetlands for the Bolsa
Chica lowlands and was not a part of the proposed housing for this area. He directed
the Board's attention to the draft of the response letter to the California State Lands
Commission and noted that the EQCB was free to make recommendations for revisions
to the letter.
Member Voce questioned the need for additional jetties. He inquired as to whether the
letter addressed the issue of mitigation measures necessary to minimize the effect of
cutting jetties into a beach and their effects on beach sand. Mr. Cummins responded
that he was not certain that the letter addressed this. Member Voce explained that the
Surfrider Foundation is very concerned about beach erosion and further engineering of
the coastline that can cause problems with waves and sand flows. Member Voce
referred the Board members to Page ES-27 of the Executive Summary, which describes
the Irrigation/Water Management Plan. Member Hurley referred to Page ES-32 and
ES-33 of the Executive Summary and pointed out that nourishment sand would be
provided to the beaches, both on an emergency and ongoing basis. Member Voce
questioned whether there would truly be a way of mitigating the effects of jetties along
the beach to the lowest levels possible. He requested that Staff include this question as
a part of the comment letter and also draft a memorandum to City Council regarding this
issue.
Member Hurley noted several grammatical corrections to be made to the draft letter
text, which were noted by Mr. Cummins. Member Hurley then referred to Page 7 of the
draft comment letter to the paragraph titled "Support for 1 st Sub-Alternative, " noting that
the 2nd Sub-Alternative has all of the advantages of the 1 st Sub-Alternative and adds 72
more acres of viable wetlands. He referred to the last paragraph of Page ES-33 of the
Executive Summary and proposed eliminating from the comment letter any text that
expresses support for a particular alternative, or to include support for the 2nd Sub-
Alternative rather than the first. Member Hurley stated that he believed the 2nd Sub-
Alternative provides the greatest potential for recovery of these wetlands, and would
provide the greatest benefit to the natural environment. Member Jones commented that
the proposed jetties for this project were smaller than what might typically be found on a
beach and that they may not have the same kind of effect as a larger jetty.
Mr. Cummins referred to the first paragraph of the section entitled "Construction
Impacts," on Page ES-12 of the Executive Summary. He commented that perhaps the
reason Staff may not have included text in support of the 2nd Sub-Alternative was
because of the "increase in construction disturbance" that would accompany
implementation of this option. Member Voce asked if Staff felt that the information
provided for Sub-Alternative 1 and 2 was adequate and clear enough. Mr. Cummins
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2000
stated that he believed that it was adequate. Member Hurley stated that he did not
completely understand the information because he had not had time to adequately
review the material and the terminology used is difficult to understand. He said that he
does understand the difference between Sub-Alternative 1 and Sub-Alternative 2, and
he believes Sub-Alternative 2 to be clearly superior environmentally. After much
discussion on the matter, Mr. Cummins commented that the EQCB could recommend to
the City Council that the portion of the letter in support of Sub-Alternative 1 be
eliminated. He noted that the Board could also instruct Staff to prepare a separate
presentation for City Council on the differences between the two Sub-Alternatives.
Another option presented by Mr. Cummins was that the Board could recommend that a
paragraph in support of Sub-Alternative 2 be included in the letter. Mr. Cummins noted
that all three of these recommendations could be made.
Member Jones commented on the difficulty Board members experience at times in
comprehending environmental report information presented for their recommendation.
He noted that much of the terminology can be unfamiliar and the manner in which the
context is written is sometimes unclear. He questioned whether the Board was
prepared at this point to make a recommendation to City Council based on their
understanding of the information presented in this EIR/EIS.
MOTION by Porter; SECOND by Jones to direct Staff to prepare a memorandum to City
Council detailing concerns expressed by the Environmental Quality Control Board
regarding insufficient time to review the EIRlEIS document beyond Staff's review, and to
revise the comment letter to remove the section on Page 2 entitled "Support for 1st Sub-
Alternative," and authorize the Chairperson to sign the response letter with any board-
approved changes.
MOTION CARRIED:
AVES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Jones, Porter, and Voce
None
McGuire
VII Staff Concerns
Mr. Cummins commented that if at any time EQCB members have any questions
regarding documents presented for their review, they should feel free to contact Mr.
Cummins or the Director of Development Services to discuss their questions or
concerns.
VIII Board Concerns
Member Jones stated that he has noted a decrease in the occurrence of graffiti. He
also expressed his concern regarding the construction on the 22 Freeway near the
Studebaker Road off ramp. He said that the project was abandoned by the contractor
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2000
and has gone uncompleted for close to a year. Mr. Cummins explained that the City of
Seal Beach had no jurisdiction regarding freeway improvement projects, but he would
investigate to determine who the appropriate contact would be to report concerns.
Member Voce expressed his concerns regarding the timing of traffic signals along Seal
Beach Boulevard during the construction phase of the boulevard improvements. He
stated that the signals are not timed well enough to slow traffic in this zone, which has
created more traffic congestion, frustrated drivers, and has increased exhaust pollution
from excess cars.
Member Hurley stated that the record should reflect that the EQCB meeting of August
30, 2000 was not held due to a lack of quorum. He requested that the Minutes of the
EQCB meeting of July 26, 2000 appear on the next Agenda. Member Hurley also
expressed his concerns over the status of Member McGuire's attendance.
The Board went off the record to discuss the issue of Member McGuire's status.
Member Porter presented two options discussed for resolving this issue:
1. That the Councilperson for Member McGuire's district be contacted again to help
resolve the matter.
2. That the Board take action and vote on whether to release Member McGuire from
the EQCB.
Member Voce proposed that the Board present Member McGuire with the ultimatum
that should she not be in attendance at the next EQCB meeting, she would be released
from the Board and the Councilperson for Member McGuire's district would then be
advised of the Board's action.
Member Jones recommended that Member McGuire be contacted directly to inquire as
to her decision to remain as a participating member of EQCB. He agreed that she be
notified that should she not be in attendance at the next EQCB meeting, she would be
released from the Board. Member Hurley was also in agreement with this proposal.
Chairperson Porter recommended sending a letter on behalf of the EQCB, which he
would sign, advising Member McGuire that one of the agenda items for the next
meeting of the EQCB would be a discussion to determine whether she should continue
as a member of the Board. Should she desire to continue as a member, her attendance
at that meeting would be appreciated.
MOTION by Porter; SECOND by Hurley directing Staff to prepare a letter advising
Member McGuire that during the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Environmental
Quality Control Board a discussion to determine whether she should continue as a
member of the Board will appear as an agenda item. Should she desire to continue as
a member, she is invited to attend.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of September 27, 2000
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Jones, Porter, and Voce
None
McGuire
Mr. Cummins stated that it would be appropriate to call Member McGuire's
Councilperson to advise of the Board's proposed action.
IX Adjournment
Chairperson Porter adjourned the meeting at 7:50 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on October 25, 2000 approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, September 27,2000. Q..e- .
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